Feeding the Body, Mind & Soul

Feeding our body with foods we like, our mind with interesting information or discussions and our soul with activities we're passionate about.


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Confession Time – I’m a Magazine Junkie

Photography Magazines

Photography Magazines

At a time were there is a tremendous amount of information and reading material readily available thanks to the Internet, I find that I’m still drawn to the glossy hard copy magazines which I can carry around with me and flick through. Over the years I’ve evolved through subscriptions and regular purchases across many different categories. I’ve read young women’s mags, celebrity news, health, fitness, food, travel, home and garden not to mention all the art/hobby related magazines on card making, jewellery, scrap booking and photography to name a few. I have to admit, I’m a magazine junkie. In case you’re wondering, no I don’t work for any publication, it’s all for personal interest. Being a hoarder, you can imagine I’ve accumulated boxes and piles of magazines since there’s many issues which I can’t seem to part with. You know, one day I may want to refer back to something I want to make or read over again… Hmmm I hear you say.

When I bought an iPad I convinced myself that I would move away from the glossies to electronic editions and save a few trees along the way. The international magazines were often cheaper too. Great, all the incentives were there. So I started off well, navigating through screens and the extra interactive video content. Like any well established habit you want to break, I’d limited my hard copy glossies down to one ongoing subscription (+ a digital copy) and I’d treat myself to the occasional paper copies here and there. Except for when I travel, then it all goes out the window. Well not literally, remember I don’t throw them out. With some airlines placing restrictions on using electronic devices, I’ve convinced myself I need to buy glossy copies of what I’d like to read while in transit. As if this wasn’t enough, if I’m going to an English-speaking country, I can’t refrain from glancing through the rows of new magazines which I normally don’t get to see and pick up a few of these too. Magazines are officially part of my travel budget nowadays.

So that’s how I’ve got to this point. Five different local and international magazines I’ve bought on photography alone in the last month or so sitting on my table. Lots of great articles which make for interesting reading and inspirational photos. We’re now also coming into the festive season so I know my library will grow, with all the Christmas editions of my favourite food magazines soon to make their way into my home too. There are new recipes to look for and try out. Macadamia and white chocolate shortbread biscuits anyone? I might need to have a good think about my list of New Year’s resolutions for 2015.

So are you a magazine junkie like me? I’d love to hear about which glossies you love to read.

 

Happy reading!

Georgia


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Top Travel Experiences – A visit to the Grand Canyon

Continuing on the topic of the seven natural wonders of the world, also among this list is the prestigious Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. As a UNESCO World Heritage listed site, the Grand Canyon National Park showcases the earth’s history through its geological make-up which dates back a couple of billion years. I find it quite difficult to really comprehend how old this is, but can see its history through the naturally carved multicoloured layered rock faces.

Grand Canyon

Guano Point – Grand Canyon

It is estimated that over five million people a year visit the Grand Canyon. I too have been one of those people many years back and again more recently. Extending over a large area many many miles long and wide, it requires separate visits to see and experience the sights, most commonly from the South and West rims.

My first trip to the Grand Canyon was part of a tour around the south-western part of the United States. A two night stay at the national park gave me the chance to see, hike and fly around the canyon’s South rim, all of which provided its own unique experience. From watching beautiful colourful sunsets standing at the rim on a warm evening, lunching in a shady spot as I soaked up the sweeping vistas, to looking back up the rocky walls as I made my way down a narrow path. Taking in its sheer size and different rock formations from up above in a helicopter flight was absolutely exhilarating.

More recently a trip to Las Vegas gave me the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon again. This time I took a short scenic flight out to the West rim which is home to the Hualapai tribe. At Eagle Point is the famous glass skywalk bridge, while at Guano Point a short and easy walk along the rim led me into the canyon and better views of the Colorado river. Standing at the edge of the canyon taking in the breathtaking view with very few people around in the early morning leaves me with no doubt that the Grand Canyon is special.

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Colorado River – Grand Canyon

Remembering how much I enjoyed the helicopter experience during my last visit, I decided to take a scenic helicopter flight again. This time at the West rim, our pilot took us down deep into the canyon landing near the Colorado river. While it was a nice feeling standing inside this deep gorge surrounded by the colourful striped cliffs, as a city girl I was also excited to see cactus plants growing in their natural desert environment.

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California Barrel Cactus – Grand Canyon

So after two visits to different parts of the Grand Canyon I’ve asked myself would I come here again? Yes! Yes! Yes! It’s a truly beautiful and peaceful place and certainly worthy of its title as a natural wonder. I hope you too have had the opportunity to see and experience this iconic place for yourselves or will do so one day.

Happy sightseeing fellow travellers!

Georgia


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Indoor Photography Project – Smoke Trails

Smoke-1296

Have you ever stopped and noticed the interesting designs that smoke trails make when incense is burning or when you move the air around the flame of a candle? Well I have! I find its almost mesmerising to watch and the patterns are always different and unique.

So it’s probably no surprise that taking photos of smoke has been on my list of to do projects for a while. One cold day, I decided to give this a go when I lit up an incense stick. I had already done some research on the setup and suggested camera settings. I’ve read that ideally you should photograph smoke in front of a black background in a dark room with a flash on the side pointing towards the smoke. Even though it was daytime, it was a dark cloudy day and my table wasn’t near the window, so I thought I’d practice anyway.

So here are two of my favourite test shots. I found that I had to focus manually in the area where I was expecting the smoke to drift but of course being unpredictable that it is, it wasn’t always drifting where I expected. This was part of the fun each time I was considering to press the shutter. I also noticed that I had to place the flash in a way to prevent it lighting up the background so it stays as dark as possible.

The settings I used were:

Focal length: 50mm

Aperture: f11

Shutter speed: 1/250 (max flash sync speed)

ISO: 160-200

 

Part of the fun with photos on smoke trails is the end colour and look. I used Adobe Lightroom for post processing. I mostly focused on increasing the contrast and changed the colour hue for the photos to look different. Of course because I was also practising this during the day, I darkened the background slightly too. I was happy with the final photos considering I was practising this during the daytime.

Remember that if you are taking photos of smoke, be safe by keeping the incense away from anything flammable and keep a window or door open nearby so there is plenty of ventilation in the room.

So if it’s a cold rainy day and you’re looking for something to photograph indoors, why not give this a go for yourself. I hope you have as much fun as I did. No two photos of smoke trails will ever be the same!

 

Cheers

Georgia

Smoke-1312


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Top Travel Experiences – Seeing an Aurora

If you’re familiar with the seven natural wonders of the world, you’ll know that among this list is the aurora borealis based in the northern arctic circle or the less common aurora australis for the folks down south.  Natures own dancing light show which lights up the night sky with beams of light among a colourful backdrop, often seen as a green ray of light raising up from the horizon. Aurora displays are absolutely breathtaking and mesmerising to watch. Not easily visible with the naked eye, but certainly a photographers dream.

Aurora Australis

The Hazards Aurora-101 Aurora Australis over The Hazards, Coles Bay, Tasmania.

Triggered by solar changes outside the earths atmosphere, auroras are unpredictable. While there are websites and apps you can check for possible sightings at certain times of the year (www.spaceweather.com) there are no guarantees with nature. Nonetheless I have always been hopeful to see this.

So you’ll understand my luck and absolute excitement when I got to see an aurora by chance during a photography workshop in Tasmania. One of our guides, Luke, who is an aurora enthusiast, received an alert indicating that a sighting might be possible that evening. With great enthusiasm among the group, our friendly and accommodating photography tour guides agreed we stay out later after our sunset shoot in Coles Bay, and so we waited with bated breath as the night set in. It was just as well because we were rewarded with a spectacular light display after the clouds moved on. The colours we captured in the sky changed from red, purple and pink with a lime green shimmer low along the horizon. We could see the moving beams of light with the naked eye as if someone was pointing a large torch from the mountain range into the sky.  Just as breathtaking were the sheer number of stars we could see in the darkness alongside the cluster of the milky way. Words cannot even begin to describe how incredible an experience this was, so hopefully these photos do.

Aurora Australis and the Milky Way over Coles Bay, Tasmania. Aurora Australis and the Milky Way over Coles Bay, Tasmania.

The photography workshop I was on during this special time was the 7 day Tasmanian Experience Photography Tour run by Michael Snedic at Trekabout Photography Workshops and Luke O’Brien Photography. While aurora displays are unpredictable, heightened activity in the last couple of years as led to a few recent sightings. If you love night photography then this is something you’ll definitely want to experience for yourself, luck permitting.

Various tours featuring the northern lights are also offered in the months around Sep/Oct and Mar/Apr in countries such as Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Alaska to name a few. I know I’m hoping to go on one of these tours one day too.

 

Good luck with your aurora hunting!

Georgia


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Lunar Eclipse

From a young age, I’ve enjoyed taking photos and I have a strong appreciation of photography as a form of art. Some of my favourite photography subjects are outdoors in nature – waterfalls, rock formations, flowers, sunsets and the moon.

So I’m sure you’ll understand that I’ve been looking forward to seeing the lunar eclipse with this month’s full moon for a few days now. Exciting as it is to see how the eclipse slowly shifts over the moon in the early evening sky, of course I wanted to capture it on my camera too. Unfortunately for me being a weeknight I wasn’t in a place where I could see the red moon low on the horizon, but here is a photo I took in the later part of the eclipse.

April full moon - Lunar eclipse

April full moon – Lunar eclipse

If you haven’t taken a photo of the moon before but would like to try with your DSLR, here are the settings I used on my camera (Nikon D7000) for this photo:

Focal length: 300mm

Aperture: f8.0

Shutter speed: 1/100sec

ISO: 100

 

I found I was able to use auto focus with this shot, however I did also switch to manual mode and adjust the lens to focus on infinity for some shots. My camera was on a tripod too.

In terms of post processing, I’ve cropped the photo and adjusted some basic settings slightly in Lightroom to bring out the texture of the moon. I think it’s exciting that we can see the detail on the surface of the moon from here on Earth, so far away.

 

Happy full moon, Georgia.


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Welcome!

A place of…

INSPIRATION – BEAUTY – TIPS – TECHNIQUES – PASSION – ART

Feeding the Body, Mind & Soul.

 

Every day we feed our bodies. Not only do we do this with the foods we eat and drink, thinking more broadly we feed our bodies with air, sunshine, touch and movement. Here you’ll find some of my favourite ways in which I feed my body. Literally. Juices and smoothies I like to make, easy meals and snacks along with a few sweet treats. Some healthy and some not so much. I’ll also touch on some of the metaphorical ways I feed my body.

When it comes to how we feed the mind, all day we take in lots of information and new things we learn. Whether it’s through something were reading or watching or perhaps it’s what’s were chatting to others about. So what do I like to read and talk about which feeds my mind? You’ll see I love reading books, magazines and articles about topics I’m passionate about, along with the occasional novel. This leads to me feeding the soul.

I believe we feed our soul by spending time doing activities which fill our heart with happiness and joy. Some people have one or two special hobbies or interests they particularly love.  As for me, well there are lots of different things which feed my soul. My passion for arts and crafts particularly photography, travel and sight-seeing, cooking and baking, along with overall health and wellbeing.

Although I’ve tried to cover the three areas separately, in reality we all know they’re interlinked.

So that’s my little introduction to this personal blog I’ve started. I hope you enjoy what’s to come as I share with you how I feed my body, mind and soul.

 

Cheers, Georgia